New York Times political reporter Katharine Q. Seelye, who famously
misquoted Al Gore during Campaign 2000, has now bent over backward to
shield Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum from a real quote
in which he disparaged "black people."

Santorum has been running from his quote since he was caught on video discussing
food stamps with a group of white voters in Sioux City, Iowa, on Jan. 1
and telling them "I do not want to make black people's lives better by
giving them somebody else's money. I want to give them the opportunity
to go out and earn the money."

The comment won Santorum a round of applause from his white audience --
and may have helped him rally right-wing Iowans as he surged to a
virtual tie with front-runner Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucuses two days
later. But the former Pennsylvania senator began coming under criticism
for his racially charged remark, which was replayed on MSNBC, CNN and
other news networks.

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Rather than stand by his comment or simply apologize, Santorum
offered the risible explanation that he never said "black people," that
he had "started to say a word" and then "sort of mumbled it and changed
my thought." The word on the video wasn't "black," he said, but "blah."

Traditionally, the role of the press in such cases has been to hold
politicians accountable, not let them make a bigoted appeal to one group
and then weasel out of it later. However, the Times and its reporter
Seelye chose to buy into Santorum's ridiculous explanation.

In a brief item in the Times on Jan. 10, entitled "Food Stamp Remarks, Clarified,"
Seelye wrote that "some construed" Santorum's comments to be "racially
charged" though she noted that Santorum explained that he had "been
tongue-tied and had not meant to refer to black people."

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When it came to describing the actual quote, Seelye wrote that
Santorum "was reported to have said" the words, rather than note that
the words -- "black people" -- can be clearly heard on the videotape.
Santorum's context, criticizing black people for receiving welfare, also
was pretty obvious. [See Consortiumnews.com's "Fleecing the Angry Whites."]

Seelye went on to write that Santorum "maintains that he did not say 'black' people's lives but rather stumbled verbally when he was trying
to say "people's lives" and uttered a short syllable that came out as
"plives.'"

Acting as if this was a plausible explanation -- and ignoring the fact
that Santorum earlier had insisted that his word was "blah" people, not
"plives" -- Seelye added that "nevertheless, [Santorum] faced criticism
afterward for apparently linking food stamps with black people." Gee,
how unfair to Santorum!

In the online version of the story, Seelye also wrote: "Moreover, he
said he has done more in black communities 'than any Republican in
recent memory.'" She further quoted Santorum as responding to press
questions about the "construed" quote on "black people" by saying, "You
guys, you guys -- it's really sad that you are bringing this up. It's
just sad news."

Misquoting Gore

Seelye's excuses for Santorum were in marked contrast to her
combative reporting regarding Vice President Al Gore during Campaign
2000 when she and Washington Post reporter Ceci Connolly helped frame
the destructive narrative that Gore was a serial exaggerator, ironically
by misquoting him.

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That "Lyin' Al" narrative, especially in contrast to the mostly
softball coverage of the well-liked Texas Gov. George W. Bush, cost Gore
a significant number of votes, according to Election 2000 exit polls,
and enabled Bush to narrow the gap with Gore enough so Republicans could
steal that pivotal election -- aided by Gov. Jeb Bush's political
cronies in Florida and five GOP partisans on the U.S. Supreme Court.
[For details on the vote count, see Neck Deep.]

Perhaps the most memorable refrain from Election 2000 was the
apocryphal quote attributed to Gore that he claimed to have "invented
the Internet" when he never said that. But the national press corps also
misrepresented other supposed examples of Gore's "exaggerations."

Indeed, some journalists behaved as if they were working out their
disappointment that President Bill Clinton had survived impeachment by
taking out those frustrations on Gore. Other reporters -- sensing the
"free-fire-zone" that was Al Gore -- may have viewed it as an opportunity
to demonstrate their toughness and build their careers.

Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be ordered at secrecyandprivilege.com. It's also available at
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